Character Analysis
A Real Wise Guy
Every hero needs a sidekick, even if said hero's super power is consuming copious amounts of wine.
Pilon is Danny's second-in-command. He's a lovable scammer and schemer who usually ends up doing the right thing... even if he takes his time getting there. Our first introduction to Pilon is in the Preface, when he goes to the army recruitment office and signs up to fight against Germany. Check out his cheeky exchange with the enlistment sergeant:
"What branch do you want to go in?"
"I don' give a god-damn," said Pilon jauntily. (P.10-11)
That sassy answer is Pilon in a nutshell. He doesn't really care too much about anything, but he's got some serious style about it. He doesn't know where his next meal (or bottle of wine) is going to come from, he doesn't know where (or with whom) he'll sleep next—and he's totally fine with that.
Pilon's able to maintain his renegade lifestyle because he's really quick on his feet. They say opportunity makes the thief, and Pilon sees opportunities everywhere. He never hesitates to make a buck or make off with somebody's lunch. This isn't a guy who would ever choose not to seize an opportunity.
When Pilon accompanies Danny to check out his new houses, for example, his mind immediately gets to work figuring out how to take advantage of the situation. His first victims are Mrs. Morales's chickens: "Pilon looked over the fence into Mrs. Morales' chicken yard, and after a moment of consideration he opened a few small holes in the fence for the hens. 'They will like to make nests in the tall weeds,' he thought kindly" (2.9).
Of course, Pilon's planning to steal the eggs, but he's so "kindly" about it that we barely even notice that he's going to commit a crime against his neighbor. That smooth-talking style—which this dude uses even when he's talking to himself—characterizes Pilon as the brains behind the operation, and also as someone with, you know, a very flexible sense of morality.
Honor among Thieves
Before you get to thinking that Pilon's a bad dude, we'd like to direct your attention to the way he treats anybody who messes with his friends. When Big Joe Portagee steals a blanket from Danny and, later, the quarter collection from the Pirate, Pilon takes it personally. He uses every method available—several of them against the Geneva Conventions—to punish the thief.
Get a load of this, for example: "Pilon whirled him around and kicked him with accuracy and fire. 'Pig,' he said, 'dirty thieving cow. You will get the blanket back or I will beat you to ribbons'" (8.95). Pilon, who's quite the thief himself, is full of righteous fury when he deals with Big Joe; this shows that Pilon does have a complicated moral code. This code allows him to steal from his neighbors if he can find a way to justify it logically, but he will never allow anyone to steal from his friends.
Part of Pilon's moral code comes from his religion. For Pilon, it's a big deal, for example, that the Pirate's quarters are dedicated to Saint Francis: "It is true that for a time they had dreamed of how much wine it would buy, but after a while they lost the conception of it as legal tender. The hoard was aimed at a gold candlestick, and this potential candlestick was the property of San Francisco de Assisi. It is far worse to defraud a saint than it is to take liberties with the law" (12.2).
So while there is a whole lot of money in the Pirate's stash, the fact that it has been dedicated to a Catholic saint makes the money completely off limits. For Pilon, there's no justification for stealing from a saint. It's even worse than stealing from your friends.
Pilon is, besides Danny, the friend with the most personality, and this mostly comes from his smarts. He's also, in a way, an example of what Danny could have been if he hadn't inherited those houses. Whereas Danny had to become responsible (we use the term loosely), Pilon remains free to continue his wild life without any worry. He's sort of the "what-might-have-been" for Danny.
What do you think: would Danny have been better off without those houses?